MacBook Core 2 Duo Optical Drive Replacement

Upgrade or replace the combo or SuperDrive (requires a slim drive). Be sure to determine which model Macbook you have when installing new parts because earlier models have a PATA/IDE connection to the motherboard rather than SATA.

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There's a trackpad and keyboard ribbon connecting the upper case to the logic board, so don't pull the upper case off entirely just yet.

Starting near the display and working around to the front of the computer, pry up on the upper case. A plastic opening tool or a medium hard guitar pick may help you to do this.

The upper case is likely to stick at the connection above the optical drive. If this is the case, first free all other sides, then proceed to pull upward on the upper case from either side of the optical drive opening.

If you stand the base on end to get a better look you may displace the total of 4 grey plastic clips that hold the keyboard in place. Don't panic. They slide into slots at the top right-most edge near the CD drive.

While holding up the upper case, pull up the black tab of the silver cable away from its connector.

If there is no black tab, you can also use a spudger to gently pry the connector from its housing. This connector is tall, so be sure to pry straight up.

If you happen to break your upper case cable when removing the upper case, we stock the cable individually and we have a guide that makes replacing it easy.

While you have the upper case removed, you may want to take the opportunity to remove dust, hair, etc. It's best to use a can of compressed air, though if you use a brush, make sure that its bristles are made of a material (usually animal hair) that doesn't generate static electricity, which can destroy electronics.

Upon reassembly, there are 4 grey plastic clips on the optical drive side of the keyboard (refer to second picture). They must be installed in their slots for the keyboard to snap in properly.

Use a spudger to carefully pry the silver metal bracket off the left side of the optical drive. Be careful not to bend the bracket, as it is very thin and bends easily. If the bracket doesn't come free easily, heating the adhesive may make prying the bracket off easier.

Thank you guys for a thorough job explaining this process of changing the optical drive. I replaced 3 totally on mine and 2 friends computers ......... Now it's totally easy and I'm thinking of taking up a little side business or fixing macs with your help!! I wish your parts were a little less expensive though.

I appreciate all your help. The change of my my optical drive costs around 200 dollars in my country, Mexico. But with your aid I didn't pay anything, because of my optical drive had a piece of peaper inside. I'm very glad withyou, thanks a lot. I saved much money, You want a beer?

I successfully replaced the DVD Read Only-CD RW drive in my Mid 2006 Macbook, with a DVD R-RW DL/CD-R-RW drive, without any trouble, by following these instructions, step by step. What helped me is for every step of the teardown/re-assembly I numbered some 1/2 cup yogurt containers from #1 to #8, cleaned of course, and placed all the screws removed in that step in a separately numbered cup making the re-assembly a breeze. It took me about 2 1/2 hours but the result was perfect!

Thanks for the fabulous step by step explanations. My computer was just as pictured and described, except for Step 6, where I have 2 3mm screws and 1 4mm. Didn't seem to be a problem, though. I finished without a hitch, or extra pieces! Woohoo!

Funny, I had taken the computer to the Genius Bar in Towson, MD, where I was told the disc drive could not be removed, nor could the disc I thought was stuck in it. Turns out, the repair can be done quite easily, and I the disc I thought was in there wasn't. Either that, or someone at the Apple Store now has a single disc from season 2 of The Wire!

Thanks! Your instructions were clear and specific, and the photos exceptionally helpful. I'm not a techie, but I decided that it would be worth the cost savings to replace the optical drive on my Macbook by myself. I was successful, the my replacement drive works nicely. You saved me a good bit of change! I thank you. -dc

All went well. I was actually working on a Japanese machine and managed to pick up an English keyboard as well as replacing the faulty optical drive. I did find it slightly awkward getting the 4 rear screws to locate as it required some downward pressure on the keyboard at the same time as keeping the lid down. Thank you for an excellent guide and the new life I will be getting from this machine.

I used this guide plus the Thermal Paste guide to resolve my MacBook RRS (Random Restart Syndrome) issue. My MacBook would randomly restart after the fan kicked into high speed. When I removed the heatsink I discovered an an irregular patch completely free of thermal compound of about 15-20% of the area on one of the processors. I removed and re-applied the thermal paste. I ran a memory test utility overnight that previously caused a restart after a couple of hours, and the probelm seems to be solved. TIme will tell.

This guide was seriously helpful, so thanks for putting this together. I found a thick ribbon of dust/muck whatever between the fan outlet and the exhaust port that was almost as dense as felt. My fan must have been fighting like crazy trying to pass air through that blockage, which explains the high temps and excessive fan noise. Wish I'd done this sooner...

Just R&R'ed the fan in my black MacBook Core 2 Duo tonight. Took me 30 minutes tops and I was taking my time. These instructions are SPOT ON! Great job ifixit.com! Two thumbs up!

Follow the instructions exactly as you see and have a piece of paper taped to the table next to you that you can outline all the screws you took out so you know where they go back in. I expected this to be a LOT harder, but it was one of the simplest repairs I've ever done to ANY computer!

Piece of cake--or should I say gum. If you don't have a magnetized screwdriver, load up a stick of gum and chomp on it until it's needed then use a bit to retain screw on the driver. And if you should tear the black tape, or if the silver tape won't stick any more, just bubblegum it together. The instructions were clear and correct, which made for a very simple repair.

The screws have to unscrewing positions, first they unscrew from the whole body BUT if you move the lid without entirely removing the screws, they will remain attached to the lid. This I find much more recomendable!

I couldn't get the top two 11mm screws to come out, even with a magnetized driver. When I tried to keep unscrewing them, they clicked like they were spring mounted, and I didn't have any trouble leaving them in and continuing on.

I couldn't get the top two 11mm screws to come out, even with a magnetized driver. When I tried to keep unscrewing them, they clicked like they were spring mounted, and I didn't have any trouble leaving them in and continuing on.

for me this was the hardest part especially the two 14.5mm that dint want to come out. keep turning the screw and slightly pressing the case down, once the screw is a little use try using finger, screw and a non metallic point to try to push them out. they arent tight but they are very hard to unscrew i almost gave up, but believe me they come out with patience

I also did not find that I needed to remove the two 14.5 mm screws. I unscrewed them but they seemed designed to stay with the case and I found it did not seem to affect anything to just let them stay there.

On this step, I encountered a problem. The middle screw was screwed in very very tightly. As a result, I ended up stripping the screw despite being very careful. I tried to use a wire cutter to remove the screw, but that did not work. I actually ended up using the wirecutter to cut the bracket off, leaving the screw screwed in. This did not affect anything. I am typing off of my replace macbook top case right now.

The point is, BE CAREFUL! but if something does go wrong, don't fret. There are solutions.

On a Macbook I just tore down, I found that in this step, the 4mm screw was on the left, not the right. I thought maybe someone else had it apart before and accidentally switched them so in staying true to these instructions I tried to reassemble with the 4mm screw on the right. I found it would not go all the way in. I ended up putting it back together with the 2-3mm screws on the right and the 1-4mm screw on the left.

I didn't look closely at these screws when I took it apart, but when I went to put it back together (two weeks later) I found I had two longer (4mm?) screws, and one short one. So I put the longer ones in the two end spots, the short one in the middle; they all seemed to go in okay. (Maybe the screws got changed around the last time the cracked top case was replaced, when the MB was in the Apple shop under warranty last year.)

To confirm what HandyMac and colmcostelloe found, some MacBooks have one 3mm and two 4mm screws in the rear wall of the battery compartment. On the one I worked on, the shorter 3mm screw came from the middle hole.

please note the position of the screws because when you are reinstalling them you might get confuse. this ones go below or under (sorry English inst my first language). There are two screw holes this steps are for the ones below.

To confirm what HandyMac and colmcostelloe found, some MacBooks have one 3mm and two 4mm screws in the rear wall of the battery compartment. On the one I worked on, the shorter 3mm screw came from the middle hole.

Thanks Beat Junkie, this was the situation with my Mac 2.13ghz Mid 2009 that I was putting back together. Thanks for the confirmation! (For the 6th step)

For me (A1181), there were two shorter screws and one longer. The longer went on the left (a shorter screw wouldn't catch). (Not the middle that is currently in the instruction. But that could be model difference.) The middle screw started to strip the head but using a slightly larger phillips allowed me to get it out.

Mine was A1181 model, Core 2 Duo 2.16 GHz. Of course I did not keep track of the screws and ended up with two shorter ones and one longer. Replaced them with the longer one to the right of the three. Got it done with a Wiha PH00 screwdriver. Had better hold than the bit from the precision screwdriver kit.

Olivia, you can screw back the longer screws that go on the inside. In the photo marked with orange. Then open and close the lid of the MacBook a few times. This will fit the 4 screws more properly in the steel inner-frame and they can come a little bit loose.

Close the lid again. Leave the inner screws untouched and begin with the outer screws (marked with red) with indeed a perfect matching screwdriver head (with a big and long grip for your hand). This worked for me perfectly without damage. Success!

With some of the screws that can happen. I had it too. This did it for the MacBook I was repairing: 1. Open the MacBook. Then press firm but gentle on the upper case with your hand or fingers while trying to loosen the screw with your screwdriver. 2. I used a different screwdriver from the same size diameter but with a much larger hand-grip. Success!

As is reported above, there a 4 friction tabs that connect to the keyboard. If they do not stay in place and stick to the keyboard, the keyboard will not go back on. Just remove them and put them in the clips, with the solid clip wall to the outside of the unit, and put the keyboard back on. Do this before reconnecting the keyboard.

The front left had an annoying little metal strip between the outside of the case and the tab. It's very easily bent, so the tab was caught on it. I spent a good deal of time trying to push and pull various things (and even just yank the @$!^ thing off), but eventually I found that if you undo the two screws you are told not to in step 7, the battery connector can be pulled up and out, leaving enough horizontal room to pull out the metal strip (with a little bit of coercion). I left it out when I put everything back together.

Because this step requires some force, make sure to double check that you got all your screws out. I finally got my gumption up to apply the necessary force required to pull up the upper case, and after 5 minutes of pulling, I look and see that the reason it wasn't coming up because I missed one screw. Ugh.

Also, before you just shove your hands under the upper case, prying about, think twice: I cut my finger pretty bad on a sharp piece of metal.

When reassembling, take some care to align the tabs on the right hand side next to the optical drive. Rock and slide these tabs into position. Then work from right to left, as the rest of the case is quite easy to put back together.

I took my mac apart yesterday to clean out the trackpad properly and after getting some 'help' from my grandfather (he lost 2 screws and snapped off a bit of the uppercase but i didn't have the heart to ask him to leave it alone) i tried putting the uppercase back on. it fits perfectly but the middle section closest to the screen appears slightly raised and when i go to screw in the four screws on the exterior of the laptop i can't because the hole is not at all aligned (and two of those four screws are very long). anyone know why this might be? can it be fixed/is it a common problem?

On the right side above the optical drive there are little plastic braces that latch the upper case to the main body. This is the reason why the upper case might stick here. If the above step is not working, also try to gently push the upper case sideways away from the optical drive after freeing all other sides. When reassembling make sure the braces are in their slots of the main body and not attached to the upper case. If you cannot fit the upper case evenly over the optical drive, that's probably why. In this case carefully remove them and slide them back into their slots before lowering the upper case.

this guide was awesome. this step was easy for the broken macbook i salvaged and noticed because i got a factory replacement keyboard quite recently on my macbook in use, the 4 clips above the optical drive were TIGHT - it took quite a bit of pulling up before it came loose!

When changing the topcase remember to change the sticker with the serial also! This might be important when further service or bigger repairs by apples service are needed. The serial also helps you with identifying your macbook!

I tried to remove the blacktab from the logic board, however, the black tab tore apart. The logic board is okay but the keyboard connector is torn. It has some silver wires passing through a whit plastic housing. It is the first generation of MacBook Core Duo. Do you think it can be repaired?

I could not get the keyboard off my the body... (black macbook I don't know if that makes any difference). It was stuck bottom left hand corner, so I had to bend whatever was stuck to get access to the logicboard etc... any reason why this is the case??

not sure if this is the place to ask but my mac. doesn't start properly now it turns on and the little light on the right side turns on but keyboard leds don't and display doesn't either any ideas please?

it was really easy, i had no experience whatsoever installing or unistalling mac parts (or pc either). it just took me less than 25 minutes, and i just finish and Im typing from my new upper case keyboard.

After a sucessful install of the keyboard, the select (mouse buttun equivalent) was found to not operate consistently. I called support and they are shipping a new one out to me. THIS is why I buy from ifixit - sure I can get a part for less elsewhere - but I would not get the service I get with ifixit - THANKS guys!!!

not sure if this is the place to ask but my mac. doesn't start properly now it turns on and the little light on the right side turns on but keyboard leds don't and display doesn't either any ideas please?

Did you ever find an answer for this question? My computer is doing the same thing. Thanks.

Did you ever find an answer for this question? My computer is doing the same thing. Thanks.

no i never did couldn't get help it blows to hear someone else had the same problem...im using a windows(yuk) but im getting a new mac next paycheck. if you figure it out let me know so i can fix my other one and maybe give it to my parents

no i never did couldn't get help it blows to hear someone else had the same problem...im using a windows(yuk) but im getting a new mac next paycheck. if you figure it out let me know so i can fix my other one and maybe give it to my parents

Hello, I'm following this procedure because my MacBook isn't turning on due to a failure in the MagSafe DC In board, it was not charging the battery and therefore no power going in. The case was broken duirng warranty and also the MagSafe power adapter was replaced. Now it is failing again. This is an old late 2006 MacBook. Does your Mac powers on, do you hear the chime sound? or you are stuck with a hardware failure?

Hello, I'm following this procedure because my MacBook isn't turning on due to a failure in the MagSafe DC In board, it was not charging the battery and therefore no power going in. The case was broken duirng warranty and also the MagSafe power adapter was replaced. Now it is failing again. This is an old late 2006 MacBook. Does your Mac powers on, do you hear the chime sound? or you are stuck with a hardware failure?

my MacBook charges the battery and powers on i dont hear a chime and it turns on but never starts

When changing the topcase remember to change the sticker with the serial also! This might be important when further service or bigger repairs by apples service are needed. The serial also helps you with identifying your MacBook!

When reconnecting the Hard Drive Cable to the logic board (Step 17) I ran the HD cable on top of the microphone wire, and the other wire that runs parallel to it, when I should have run the HD cable underneath those two wires. This resulted in the hard drive not being connected on startup, and a lengthy troubleshooting session to figure this out. So save some time and install this underneath the two wires, just like you found it when taking it apart!

STEP 20 - IMPORTANT= This screw secures a mounting bracket on the optical drive. This bracket's eyelets are slotted. The right side of the bracket has a tab inserted in the bottom case. After removing the screw, use the spudger to slide the bracket to the left. This disengages the tab from the right side of the case, thus allowing the optical drive to be lifted out in step 23.

As an addition to xtian's note, the bracket that you need to slide right (and a spudger is very useful here) it may be because the rear right (as in the picture) of the optical drive needs to be GENTLY pushed down as the bracket end needs to slot into a hole on the right hand side of the case.

There is only one screw holding the optical drive down, the one circled in red. the one in orange is for the ground loop for the microphone and right speaker cable. Also, a spudger makes quick work of moving the cables out of the way to get to the screw for easy removal/replacement.

As I tried to refit the optical drive, the plastic mount for the brass threaded socket that receives the screw crumbled like an old tooth. Only thing for it was to ditch the plastic and superglue the brass socket into place on the case - seems to have worked. (People who design parts/fixings that involve strong materials held in place by weaker ones should be imprisoned). I also had to remove the sliding bracket on the drive and cut 2/3mm off the right hand end to get the screw hole to align with the brass socket, also seems not to have caused any harm. Never thought I would find myself lashing out with the superglue and wielding a hacksaw inside a laptop...empowered!

On the the optical drive there is a sliding-bar (secured by two screws, which fixes the drive in the right edge of the Alu-frame) that has to be shifted to the left when taking the drive off. Especially, before putting the optical drive back to the computer, make sure that the the sliding bar is in its leftward position in order not to block the insertion of the drive. Then shift the bar gently to the right thereby fixing the drive's position.

Don't use a spudger to get this bracket off. If you do, you will bend it. It's stuck on with something more like double-sided tape than adhesive; so, what you want to do is cut the bracket away from the tape. I found a razor-knife worked well. Run it between the bracket and the surface on the top of the drive first, where there isn't actually any adhesive, just to make sure it's clear and free there. Then, run the blade between the bracket and the surface on the side of the drive, thereby cutting it away. It should then just lift off in one (unbent) piece. This 'bracket' (It's actually more of a 'cable guide' than a bracket.) is as thin as thick tin-foil. If you subject it to any sort of leverage, e.g. by using a spudger, you will inevitably bend and spoil it.

If you're replacing the drive with a new Blu-Ray drive, leave the tape on. You'll be swapping the top cover of this old drive with the top cover of the new Blu-Ray; this is required for the new Blu-Ray drive to be mounted. This applies to all other steps that involve removing something from the top cover; anything attached to that top cover you can leave in place.

Check this bracket to make sure it isn't bent. I had a MacBook that would intake or eject discs with difficulty; there seemed to be some obstruction in the disc drive opening. I took it apart and determined that the case opening (CD slot) was slightly out of alignment with the opening in the disc drive. I couldn't see why until I noticed that the front end (near the case opening) of this bracket was bent, so it didn't properly slide into the "slot" in the case chassis where it's supposed to go, thus forcing the disc drive to sit an mm or so high at that point, so it wasn't aligned with the disc insert slot in the case. I removed the bracket, straightened it, reinstalled it, and now everything works fine.

It should be noted for reassembly that this bracket should be slid toward the back end of the drive when it is inserted, then slid forward toward the front end so its "tab" goes into the "slot" in the chassis; then the bracket will be in the correct position to insert the screw. If the drive is put into its place with this bracket slid toward the front (opening) of the drive, there is danger the bracket may be bent, causing the problem I experienced. (I don't know when it happened in this unit, maybe when it was first assembled in the factory.)

I agree about the alignment. In my case, I had to disassemble the machine three times to account for this, as the computer did not even HAVE certain parts!

To make a VERY long story short, my MacBook was purchased secondhand from a local brick-and-mortar reseller at a slight discount. Even though I was told the optical drive was not functional, it was only after I took it apart that I realized they had cannibalized the OD parts (the 2.16 GHz came standard with the SuperDrive) and stuck in a non-functioning combo drive! To make matters worse, they "forgot" to put in certain screws here and there (I scrounged those myself out of dead hard drives).

One optical drive, one ribbon cable, and a few hours later I have a two-year-old machine for the cost of trading in my aging 14" iBook G4. A fully operational MacBook for $520? Not too shabby, plus it's plain to see why Apple opened up its Genius Bar service: too many shysters like the ones I dealt with.

It's time to speak out for your right to repair

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It's time to speak out for your right to repair

Dear New Yorkers,

Right now, New York has a chance to pass the first Fair Repair bill in
the nation. We have a chance to guarantee our right to repair electronics—like
smartphones, computers, and even farm equipment. We have a chance to help
the environment and stand up for local repair jobs—the corner mom-and-pop
repair shops that keep getting squeezed out by manufacturers.